Ocular Tension in Glaucoma Simplex

Abstract

The ocular tension (Shiotz tonometer) was recorded at 2-hr. intervals for 24 hrs. in 34 cases of chronic simple glaucoma. Four types of curves were obtained: A"double-variation" curve showing low phases in the early morning and early afternoon and high phases in the late morning and early evening; a"rising" curve with a low phase in the early morning and a high phase in the late afternoon, a"falling" curve which only shows irregular variations. These are given in their order of frequency. In most cases the higher the ocular tension the greater the variations of tension. There is a close similarity between the variations of the right and left eyes. The variations of tension do not appear to be related to changes in blood pressure, postural alterations, eye movements, or the ingestion of food.